Collectible Figurines and Retired Limited Edition Figurinesfor sale at The Glass Menagerie. Beautiful hand-crafted, hand painted porcelain and fine china figurines from Hummel and Royal Doulton include retired models such as "Just Resting", "Little Helper", "Jennifer", "Goody Two Shoes", "Tuppance", several Toby Jugs and a rare Dicken's Cottage Jug. We have an extensive collection of Red Rose Tea Whimsie Animal and Nursery Rhymn Figures from the George Wade factory and a collection of Retired Collectible Pendelfin stonecraft Rabbit Figures.

M.I. Hummelrefers the wonderful creative works of Berta Hummel born in Germany in 1909. She loved sketching and in 1927 was enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich where she begain painting in oils. Being deeply religious, she entered the convent and was ordained Sister Maria Innocentia. In 1934, the W. Goebel factory began producing her artwork into three dimentional figures. During WWII, the Nazi government closed the convent forcing Sister Maria Hummel into such poverty she became very ill. She died of tuberculosis Nov. 6, 1946 at the age of 37. Her work lives on through the efforts of the convent and the Goebel factory. All true Hummel pieces have special marks of identification.

Royal Doulton has a history dating back to 1815 when John Doulton opened a small pottery on the banks of the Thames in London. In 1935, his son Henry took over and expanded the production to include more household decorative items including figurines. By the 1880's, over 300 men and women worked for the factory and by the 1920's, many figurines of the size we see today were standard production and the HN numbering system was also introduced. Royal Doulton figurines are molded in many pieces and hand joined, finished and painted. They are made of fine china and porcelain in both matte finish and high glaze. More than 2000 figures have been created, some are still in production such as the Balloon Man, but many have been discontinued to make way for new figures. All Royal Doulton figurines are clearly marked.

Wade Whimsies & Pottery also has a long history beginning about 1810 with a small utilitarian pottery owned by Henry Hallen. In 1919, the George Wade pottery was incorporated making mostly insulators and tiles. The company struggled through the years trying many different ideas and began making earthenware housewares and figurines. Production was stifled with WWII but once the war was over, production boomed along with the times creating thousands of items from dinnerware to figurines. Among the many items produced by the now George Wade & Son Ltd. factory of 1967 were miniature animal and nursery rhyme figurines requested by Brook Bond Foods for their Red Rose Tea sold in Canada as promotion inserts known today as "whimsies". These hand-painted multi-coloured miniatures became very popular and were a feature from 1967-1982. When Red Rose Tea became available in the USA in 1983, these figurines were included as tea gift inserts. They differed from the Canadian collection because they are distinquished by an all-over one-colour glaze. All Wade "whimsies" have Wade England on them and a finely grooved base. Beware of reproductions!

Pendelfin rabbit figurines are relatively new creations beginning as a hobby in 1953 by Jeannie Todd and Jean Walmsley Heap in Burnley, England. From simple gifts for family and friends grew a large and successful production line still operating today. Each finely detailed piece is press molded from a clay and stone compound and hand painted by skilled artists. Many hundreds of figures have been created, some now discontinued. The Glass Menagerie has a small collection of "discontinued" Pendelfin figures. All Pendelfin figurines are marked with the official logo sticker on the bottom.

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